Tuesday, May 22, 2012

By Ryan Syrkus, FSU Sports Information
On April 15, Jason Zafiros accomplished something which few are able to even conceive; 100 career victories. The Florida State tennis standout from Bradenton secured the milestone after a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Trpimir Kujundzic while playing at Virginia Tech.

"It means a lot, it's something I've wanted to do since high school," said Zafiros. "It's a goal I've always had and something I've stride towards. It makes all the hard work pay off."

Still, the accomplishment did not come easy as pressure began to get to him the closer he got to the goal.

"It was in my head toward the end of the season," he said. "Am I going to get to it? When I was at 97, 98, am I going to get to 100? There were only a certain amount of matches left so it took a toll on me."

However, he persevered and kept shooting for his goal.

Starting his collegiate career at the University of Arizona, Zafiros attained 75 wins out west, including a trip to the semifinals of the singles bracket at the 2009 Wilson/ITA Division I Southwest

Regional Championships in Malibu, Calif. However, he decided to play closer to his home for his final year.

"I really wanted to come back home my last year and have my parents come to all my matches and be a part of a big time program like FSU," said Zafiros.

Even with the move, Zafiros does not regret leaving Arizona for his senior year.

"It's harder to improve when you get older, but I've improved under this coaching staff," concluded Zafiros. "I feel that Florida State is a big time program and I'm really happy I've been a part of it even though it was only for one year."

Zafiros finished his collegiate career at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Georgia during the NCAA Regionals second round. His last completed match went his way as he won 6-3, 6-4 against Scott Sears of Boise State for his 104th career victory.
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